The measure would have imposed possible fines and possible prison sentences on doctors who knowingly performed abortions based on sex. The ban failed to get the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

The White House, most Democrats, abortion rights groups and some Asian-American organizations opposed the bill, saying it could lead to racial profiling of Asian-American women and subject doctors who do not report suspected sex-selection abortions to criminal charges.

The bill had little chance of becoming law because the Democratic-controlled Senate would likely have ignored it.

Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House's No. 2 Democrat, said he thought the bill was introduced because "somebody decided politically that this was a difficult place to put people in."